Mitten



June 3, 1958 N. M. HENRxKsoN 2,836,828

MITTEN Filed Jan. so, 195s IN VEN TOR. Na/m M #EMMA/50N www@ c. my

/7 fron/vs y United States Patent C f MITTEN Norma M. Henrikson,Lakewood, Ohio Application January 30, 1956, Serial No. 562,217

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-158) This invention relates broadly to hand coverings,and more particularly, to a mitten constructed and arranged in suchmanner that the users fingers-may be readily freed for unobstructed usewithout entirely removing the mitten from the hand, said mitten beingfurther adapted to be drawn down along the hand to the wrist and arm,and worn as a wristlet.

The wearing of mittens in cold weather, for protection of the hands, iscommon practice. Mittens, designed primarily for such purpose, do notordinarily permit individual freedom of movement of the fingers, whichis necessary in order to handle such objects as keys, papers, matches,tickets, etc., when out of doors in cold weather, without completelyremoving the mittens. The desirability of providing mittens permittingrelease of the fingers from the mitten, while partially retaining themitten on the hand, is at once apparent. Also, the desirability ofconstructing a mitten so that it maybe pulled down over the hand andwrist and worn as a wristlet, is likewise apparent.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a mitten adapted toafford the wearer individual freedom of movement of the fingers andthumb, while providing essentially the same degree of protection fromthe cold, customarily provided by a mitten of conventional construction.

Another object is to provide a relatively simple mitten, which is Whollydevoid of springs, metal, and other parts, which might in any mannerinterfere with the use of a mittened hand.

Other objects are to provide a mitten, which can be formed or" variousmaterials, such as yarn, plastic material, or other materials, the sameproviding a readily adjustable mitten, adapted to be worn either as ahand covering or as a Wristlet.

Other objects are to provide a mitten, which can be produced at arelatively low cost, the same retaining the appearance of a conventionalmitten, a single mitten being adapted to be worn with equal comfort oneither the right or left hand, without altering its construction ordesign.

These and other objects of the invention will appear during the courseof the following specification. In the drawings, forming a part of thisspecification:

Fig. 1 is a view of a mitten, embodying my invention, completelyenclosing the hand of the wearer;

Fig. 2 isa similar View, showing the mitten pulled down toward the palmof the hand, permitting free and unobstructed use of the fingers andthumb;

Fig. 3 illustrates the mitten pulled down over the wearers wrist andworn as a wristlet;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. l; while Fig.5 is a sectional View taken in the line 5 5 of Fig. 1.

ln the drawings, the numeral 1l) refers to a mitten, preferably made ofsuch flexible material as yarn, cloth or other suitable materials, thesame including an elon- 2,836,828 Patented `lune 3, 1958 ICC gated dattubular body portion A, open at both ends, and a thumb portion B, openat its end. I have found it convenient to make the mitten 10 by knittingit from yarn, although it may beformed of cloth or other suitableiiexible materials, sewn or otherwise joined together. An opening 11 isprovided on the outer end of the mitten 10, while surrounding suchopening 11, the material of the mitten end is folded over the top mittenmargin and back against the inner side of the mitten,-

forming a pocket 12 extending entirely around the inner end of themitten, which, if desired, may have a depth of approximately one inch.The pocket 12 may be secured to the body A of the mitten 10 by stitchingit to the body A at the edges indicated by the numeral 13.

The outer end of the thumb B is open at 16, and is folded over anddownwardly around the outside, in turn forming a fold 14 secured to thethumb portion B at two points by stitches 15,v or in any suitablemanner. It is contemplated that the mitten 16 be formed of ilexible orelastic materials, permitting the use and operation of the mitten as nowdescribed. Obviously, the mitten 10 may be Worn as a conventionalmitten, as illustrated in Figs. l and 5, wherein the ends of the wearersfingers are within the palm side portion of the pocket 12, illustratedas worn on the left hand, and the wearers thumb is within the thumbportion B inwardly of the end fold 14. If desired, the ends of thefingers may be disposed in the open end 11 of the mitten A, inwardly ofthe pocket 12. However, usually it may be desirable to enclose the endsof the fingers within one side of the ends pocket 12 in order to protectthe ends of the Wearers fingers from the cold.

Should the wearer of the mitten desire to free the fingers and thumb,for making change, for example, the other hand is used to pull out theend of the mitten and free the fingers from one side of the pocket 12;then the fingers are disposed within the end opening 11, the mitten ispulled down a short distance and folded over, as shown in Fig. 2,exposing the fingers for the purposes described. At the same time, thethumb portion B, being open at the end, is pulled toward the palm of thehand, exposing the thumb in an obvious manner. From this position themitten 10 may be readily restored to its position on the hand, asillustrated in Figs. l and 5, in an obvious manner.

Should the user, however, desire to wear the mitten 10 as a wristlet,the end fingers are released from the pocket 12, as above described; thethumb portion B is pulled over the thumb, and then with the wearersthumb disposed against the side of the palm, the mitten 10 is slid downover the Wrist to the position illustrated in Fig. 3; whereupon, themitten is worn solely as a wristlet, from which position it may beentirely removed from the wearer by pulling it over the palm andfingers, as will be apparent.

Attention is directed to the feature of providing a pocket extendingentirely around the opening 11 at the end of the mitten, which permitsthe same mitten to be worn, with equal facility, on either the right orthe left hand as the particular side of the pocket 12 nearest the palmof the wearer is used in either case, and the same thumb portion B isused in either case. This feature represents a substantial saving inmanufacturing costs, as is readily apparent. From the standpoint of themitten wearer, it is a distinct advantage for certain uses, where amitten is required for one hand only, and sometimes a mitten is worn onone hand and then on the other. Likewise, the user losing one mitten canobtain a replacement without regard to its fitting either handexclusively.

if desired, the mitten can be first worn on the wrist when leaving thehouse to go out of doors in cold weather,

and then if it is needed to as, for example, when driving an automobile,it may quickly and easily be pulled up to-use it'as a mitten, asillustrated in Fig. l.

Y When it is worn as a Wristlet, Y the thumb .portion BY caribeconvenientlyrinserted inta Vasi-:asas

protect the hands and fingers,

Vmediate the ends'thereof and extending outwardly'from Y the sidethereof, and a pocketwvithin the outer end of Vthe Afolds ofthe mittenat the Ewrist and'retained-there Y in `order torkeep ity outof theWayr'of the wearer. QTheY nniqueconstruction Vof this mitten requiresvery little'. ,v

more material than a conventional'mitten,v Obviously,

' the mitten may be .made of various shapes Yineoporating the featuresdisclosed herein. It lends itself for productionrfrorn a relatively Widerange of-exible or elastic materials; f'

said body portion, extending entirely around the inner periphery of theVouter endfo'f said body, portion, Vsaid pocket being secured tothe'sidesrof said body portion providing an opening on both ythe frontand back sides of saidvbody portion, whereby one side opening7` isadapted *toY receive the Wearers lingersV with the palm y of the 4handagainst the palm portion of said mitten'when ,Y

the mitten is worn on the right hand and theother side opening is'Vadapted to receive the lingers With'therpalm against the'palm portion ofthe mitten When the mitten It will be apparent tothrose skilled in theart thatthe Y invention herein Ydisclosed isY illnstrative only, andYthat the'invention'may be varionslychanged, used, or modified, withoutdeparting fromthe spirit of' the 'invention or sacrificingthe'advantages thereof.

Irelain'u 1 Y p Y' "'A`mitte'n comprising', a flat tubular bodyrportionof exible materialV open at both ends, a thumhjporton havinglanopening'V at the outer end thereof, formed 'of similar material, openingintosaid body portion' interis worn on the left hand, thereby-permittingthe Vsame mitten to beiV worn on either handwith equal utility.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,315,889 ,Y Wens V -"Apr. 6,1943

2,323,136V Y FOREIGN PATENTS 227,618VV Grea1Br1tain r N0v.17,19147Johanson lune 29,:1943V 'i

